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NFL
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 10, 2003
EAGLES: Donovan McNabb can expect to see plenty of blitzes from the Falcons, and not because he's returning from a broken ankle.
Unlike most of Philadelphia's opponents, the Falcons play a 3-4 defense under coordinator Wade Phillips. The set features three down linemen and four linebackers in its basic alignment, creates different matchups for offensive linemen and relies on the blitz perhaps more than any other scheme.
The Eagles faced the 3-4 once this season, defeating the Texans 35-17 but taking a while to adjust.
The Texans blitzed McNabb 40-50 times. He was sacked three times and pressured on numerous occasions, but completed 24 of 42 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown.
"It's not like we've never seen it," Eagles center Hank Fraley said. "On certain downs, some teams play a 3-4 defense. We're comfortable with it and with the week of practice, we'll be fine."
FALCONS: Atlanta's receivers, a collection of low draft picks (Shawn Jefferson, Quentin McCord, Trevor Gaylor, Darrin Chiaverini) and one undrafted player (Brian Finneran) face a secondary of stars. Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor and Brian Dawkins made the Pro Bowl.
"Those guys are the premier secondary in the league," Jefferson said. "We've got our work cut out for us. We've got be ready to play, and hopefully we can get a little lucky."
Vincent and Dawkins were named to the Associated Press All-Pro team, while Taylor was a second-teamer. Taylor paced the Eagles with a career-high five interceptions, Dawkins led the way with 131 tackles and Vincent is so respected that teams rarely throw his way.
Vincent and Taylor clamp down on receivers in single coverage, which allows the Eagles to stack the line and blitz frequently. No wonder they led the NFL with 56 sacks and ranked ninth in rushing defense, giving up 103.8 yards.
"They put pressure on the quarterback and they don't have to cover that long," Finneran said. "Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor are great athletes. If the ball is in the air, they're going to make a play on it."
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick also is impressed with the secondary: "We need to come out early and challenge them. Maybe we can take a shot downfield."